Erie, Pa. – The Robert Morris University men's hockey team didn't ask for a refresher, but the Colonials were reminded that the sport isn't always fair on Sunday afternoon at Mercyhurst Ice Center.

Despite generating 41 shots on goal and a season-high 85 attempts, the Colonials suffered their first shutout loss in nearly two years and just their second defeat of the season, falling 3-0 to Atlantic Hockey rival Mercyhurst to conclude an otherwise very successful fall semester.

"I feel bad for the team that their effort wasn't rewarded," RMU head coach Derek Schooley said. "I was pleased with how we played. We asked them for a hard 60 minutes to end the semester and they did that consistently today."

No. 17 Robert Morris (11-2-3, 9-2-3 AHC) entered the day as the highest-scoring team in Division I by a wide margin, but it couldn't create a goal for the first time since a 2-0 loss at Air Force on Jan. 23, 2013. That impressive 73-game streak came to an end, as did the Colonials' four-game winning streak.

RMU had an opportunity to at least force overtime late in Sunday's third period, when a pair of Lakers penalties – including a five-minute major – handed the visitors a pair of high-leverage power plays. However, Mercyhurst senior goalie Jimmy Sarjeant capped a rebound game with a final set of important saves.

"We had tremendous opportunities," Schooley said. "Pucks were bouncing around the crease. Our power play gave us energy all game…we just couldn't score."

Sunday marked the first time this season that RMU has lost in regulation, as a 2-1 home setback to Air Force on Nov. 15 was the team's only previous blemish. Following that defeat, the Colonials scored 31 goals during a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1). That run included a 7-4 triumph Saturday night to start this weekend series.

"Just one of those games where you have a lot of chances and can't score," said senior forward Scott Jacklin. "Their goalie played well and we hit three or four posts. We played the right way most of the game."

Mercyhurst scored the only goal it needed on the power play early in the third period. Anthony Mastrodicasa drew a defender to the center point and fed the puck to Kyle Just for an accurate finish past Colonials goalie Terry Shafer.

The Lakers (8-5-2, 6-3-2 AHC) added an important insurance goal with 2:33 to play, with Matthew Zay making a strong play to hold onto the puck and find Just in front for a shorthanded strike. Ryan Misiak added an empty-netter less than a minute later to clinch the weekend split for Mercyhurst and hand an unjust loss to Shafer (14 saves).

"Terry wasn't challenged much, but he was good when he was," Schooley said. "According to our video review we only allowed two (scoring) chances through two periods. On the power-play goal we made a couple of mistakes in defending it and he didn't have much of a chance on the shorthanded goal."

Even with the loss, the Colonials can savor the stark difference between this fall's tremendous results and last year's 2-10-2 record at the same point.  RMU is 28-8-6 in calendar year 2014, including the program's first conference title and NCAA tournament appearance, plus its best start in 11 D-I seasons.

"It's quite an accomplishment after what happened last year," said redshirt junior defenseman Tyson Wilson. "It shows the character of the team our ability to learn from our mistakes.

"We have built a strong foundation for the second half of the year and we need to continue to build on top of it."

Tweet of the Game:

Tough loss for @RMUHockey outshot Mercyhurst 41-17 but fall short. A year ago, they had 2 wins at Christmas, this year, only 2 losses.

— gary heeman (@21stCenturySkiz) December 14, 2014

Although the Colonials didn't pump in four goals like they did in Saturday's first period, they were effective nonetheless. RMU generated 17 shots on goal and 30 total attempts, including terrific scoring chances for Greg Gibson, David Friedmann, Brandon Denham and Matt Cope.

But the visitors couldn't beat Sarjeant in the opening 20 minutes, ending a streak of 13 consecutive regulation periods with at least one goal. RMU had scored in every non-overtime frame since the second period on Nov. 15.

Robert Morris continued to control the game in the second period, earning a pair of power plays in the process. Once again, the Colonials couldn't beat Sarjeant in the frame despite 14 shots on target. Friedmann came the closest when his rebound try hit the crossbar, but Cope also nearly converted a net-front setup from Denham.

"I thought that was one of our more complete games of the year," said Wilson, who was one of RMU's leaders with six shots on goal. "We had a ton of chances."

Senior winger Cody Wydo paced the Colonials with eight shots, but the nation's second-leading scorer (25 points) was held off the scoresheet for just the second time in his past 21 games.

Wydo's six-game point streak came to an end, as did multiple-game runs by Daniel Leavens (five), Zac Lynch (five), John Rey (three) and Denham (three). RMU had gone unbeaten in its past nine road contests (7-0-2), dating back to Feb. 22 at Canisius.

Following the semester break, RMU will compete in two showcase events before returning to conference play. The Colonials joins the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins in hosting the third annual Three Rivers Classic at CONSOL Energy Center on Dec. 29-30, then they face Bowling Green outdoors at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio, on Jan. 3.

"It was a really good, successful fall semester," Schooley said. "I told the guys to go home, enjoy the holidays, and come back in shape and ready to go."